As he was doing his standard daily channeling of Howard Beale Thursday, Glenn Beck referenced an even earlier cinematic cautionary tale. In the middle of a rant about President Obama‘s remarks to the AFL-CIO, he said he felt as though he’d slipped through a wormhole in the middle of the night, exclaiming “It’s like the damn Planet of the Apes!”

This looked like nothing more than a rather unfortunate melding of foot and mouth, especially for a guy with Beck’s tenuous grasp of race relations, until I got a load of Joan Walsh‘s Stormfront dot-connecting. We’ve let the clip run a little longer to make sure we didn’t miss any context.(h/t Michi)Continue reading →

Those of you who know me best know that I will do almost anything for a joke. It doesn’t even have to be a good joke, just one that makes me laugh. So, after watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spend all of last week fighting it out over President Obama‘s new NASA plan, the first thing I thought of when I saw Ke$ha‘s backup dancers on Saturday Night Live was “So, that’s what they’re doing for extra cash now.”

Add to that the fact that this performance is made of 9 different varieties of AWESOME, and I was determined to build a Mediaite blog post around that one joke. I will long consider it a personal failing that I could not manage it. Now, the moment is gone, but if ever there are two astronauts battling it out in the public square again, I can simply link to this post. In the meantime, enjoy the best thing I’ve seen on SNL in awhile.

I really had to laugh to myself when I saw this item at Hot Air, in which New York Governor David Paterson’s wife, Michelle, seems to indicate that race and/or disability may be behind the White House’s attempt to get him not to run. Here’s what she said:

“David’s the first African-American governor in the state of New York and he’s being asked to get out of the race. It’s very unusual and it seems very unfair.”…

In a passionate defense of her husband, New York’s first lady, Michelle Paterson, tells News 4 it’s wrong for the White House to get involved in a local race. She admits there have been some very disappointing times recently where it seemed her husband might not be able to survive politically. But she said he’s “a fighter” who is staying in the race. Mrs. Paterson says she believes David’s blindness is contributing to his low poll numbers.

Here’s why I laughed. On Monday, I was playing a game of “What’s the worst possible question I can ask Robert Gibbs at my next briefing?” It’s an amusing pastime that I engage in on long car trips, or while waiting at the DMV. It’s actually a helpful exercise, too, but I’ll get to that later.

So, Monday’s entry, as I drove back from Manhattan, was “Robert, did the President ask David Paterson not to run for re-election because he’s black, or because he’s blind? Or was it the combination of those two factors?”

It’s a useful exercise because it can help to reveal a deeper point from a superficial starting place. In this case, I’ve sat through many briefings and press conferences in which reporters tried, repeatedly, to get the White House to weigh in on one race or the other, in even the teensiest way, only to be rebuffed. Eventually, someone would say “OK, how about this: Can you confirm that a Senate race exists in Illinois?” Gibbs: “It would not be appropriate for the President to comment on another race.”

First of all, no-one was under any illusions that Paterson earned himself any goodwill with the White House with his handling of the Hillary Clinton Senate seat. His poll numbers are also not terrific. Issuing a decree like this isn’t all that necessary, and has no upside for the White House. The best case scenario is that Paterson steps aside, something that could have been accomplished with more subtle pressure. Worst case: Paterson defies the White House, and puts a dent in their leadership credibility.

I also found my mock question illustrative of another prickly point in recent political discourse. The idea that Joe Wilson’s “You lie!” outburst was related to race has not really been framed all that well by the media. The question isn’t whether Obama’s race made him do that, but whether it failed to prevent it. Nobody had ever heckled a white President in such a setting, just as no white Democratic New York Governor has had this problem before.

You also have to wonder if the President would have called an iconic white pop star a “jackass,” and what the reaction to that would have been.

If we’re all being honest, race does frequently have some impact on the way we deal with people. As a writer, I know I’ve found myself debating the use of seemingly innocuous phrases that could be distracting when applied to a black President. I recall changing the word “tarred” in reference to a negative campaign ad, for example.

One of the reasons that discussions of race are so poisonous is that the objective, frequently, is not to gain greater understanding, but rather to score points. That’s really too bad, because this kind of on-the-job learning could be a valuable object lesson for the rest of us.

I didn’t know the first thing about Joe Wilson before “You lie,” but since then, I’ve been informed that he supported the flying of the Confederate flag, and that he disparaged the illegitimate black daughter of Strom Thurmond. Still, people can learn and grow, and if Wilson had held a press conference after his outburst to say something like, “Upon reflection, and despite my continued belief in the substance of my objection, I think it is possible that I might not have done that to a white President,” well, a statement like that would impress the hell out of me. Unfortunately, it would also lead to headlines like “Wilson a Self-Avowed Racist!”

I was perusing my Facebook wall today when I noticed that a private citizen had posted a response to the President’s address on health care. “Oh, it’s Sarah,” I thought. “This ought to be good.”

Sarah is one of my Facebook friends, and while she knows very little about health care, her rants on the subject are frequently entertaining.

This one was shaping up to be a disappointment, however, a lame rehash of things that Republican politicians have been saying. Then, right towards the end, she brung it, and brung it good:

Finally, President Obama delivered an offhand applause line tonight about the cost of the War on Terror. As we approach the anniversary of the September 11th attacks and honor those who died that day and those who have died since in the War on Terror, in order to secure our freedoms, we need to remember their sacrifices and not demonize them as having had too high a price tag.

Amoosehuntersayswhat?

I’m pretty familiar with the President’s speech, and I don’t remember the “War on Terror” coming up at all. I went back over the transcript, looking for this demonization, and this is the closest thing I could find:

Now, part of the reason I faced a trillion-dollar deficit when I walked in the door of the White House is because too many initiatives over the last decade were not paid for — from the Iraq war to tax breaks for the wealthy. (Applause.) I will not make that same mistake with health care.

Now, even granting that the Republican “mind” equates the Iraq War with 9/11, a talking point that the reality-based community has long since dismissed, I’m hard-pressed to see the demonizing in that statement.

The President did make mention of the war in Afghanistan later in the speech:

Now, add it all up, and the plan I’m proposing will cost around $900 billion over 10 years — less than we have spent on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and less than the tax cuts for the wealthiest few Americans that Congress passed at the beginning of the previous administration. (Applause.)

Again, Sarah, I’m not seeing it.

What I am seeing is a pretty offensive attempt by a former politician to score political points by exploiting one of our nation’s greatest tragedies. Of course, it makes more sense when you realize that, as David Corn reports today, Palin has joined forces with the neocons to try and mess up Afghanistan as badly as they did Iraq.

I have been the first person to defend Sarah Palin when she has been treated unfairly, despite my nearly full disagreement with her on just about everything, but this is indefensible.

The fact that no-one else seems to have noticed is a testament to her newly-found private citizen-hood. She’s quickly proving that, as a leader, she’s a pretty good Facebook friend.

For example — for example, some have suggested that the public option go into effect only in those markets where insurance companies are not providing affordable policies. Others have proposed a co-op or another non-profit entity to administer the plan. These are all constructive ideas worth exploring.

So, two sentences placating the GOP’s and Blue Dogs’ macaroni art constitutes a repudiation of the public option?